Wolfman Jack, born Robert Weston Smith in 1938, exemplified the meaning of “legendary” in different ways over the course of his career. In radio, Wolfman Jack was legendary for promoting a type of music banned from AM airwaves in the early 1960s: rhythm and blues. Broadcasting from a powerful station across the US-Mexico border, Wolfman Jack paired the music he adored with his on-air personality, demonstrated with impromptu howls, for the entertainment of tens of thousands.

In music, Wolfman Jack became a legend through the works of artists paying tribute to the disc jockey. Todd Rundgren, the Guess Who and Freddie King each wrote songs about Wolfman Jack. When composing lyrics for The Wasp, Jim Morrison was heavily influenced by Wolfman’s broadcasts.

During the early years of his career, Wolfman Jack was renowned for being absent from both the big and small screens despite his unrivaled popularity on the radio. While he had appeared in little-noticed pictures before, Wolfman Jack finally became easily recognizable when he played himself in 1973′s “American Graffiti,” a film directed by one of his fans, George Lucas.

In addition to his movie appearances, Wolfman Jack became a legend on television by hosting “The Midnight Special” on NBC from 1973 through 1981 while continuing his radio broadcasts.